Bill Calls For Reduced License Costs

Published: September - 2007

Remember all the brouhaha about nonresident hunting rights out West? For a while there it appeared nonresidents were going to gain more equitable access to public lands, thanks to some favorable court decisions. Then Congress stepped in and reaffirmed the states' untrammeled rights to allocate hunting privileges as they see fit within their borders, even on public land. That pretty much ended all efforts to restore some kind of balance between resident and nonresident hunters. 10 percent set-asides, huge nonresident fees it all become perfectly legal again.

Enter Congressman Duncan Hunter of California. Hunter has introduced a bill he calls the Teddy Roosevelt Bring Back Our Public Lands Act of 2007. If passed, it would prohibit a state from charging more than $200 for a permit or license to hunt big game on Federal public land within that state. The bill does not address the issue of preferential access to residents.

Is this bill going anywhere? Probably not. At this writing it does not have a single co-sponsor. Its introduction does serve as a reminder, though, that it is outrageously unfair what many western states are doing. All of us pay for the upkeep of federal lands. These lands belong to us all. And every last one of us deserves a chance to access them on a roughly equal footing. One of these days that patently obvious idea is going to mushroom into an unstoppable movement.